Hello from Maine! Excited to learn!

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Hello :frow and Welcome to BYC! X2 on the Henderson chicken breed chart. http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html#j Sussex, Delawares, Wyandottes are decent winter-hardy layers that come in pretty colors, other cold weather ones RIR, NHR are quite good layers, and any of the sex links, red especially get my vote for pure egg production.
 
So I noticed on the Henderson chart, and on another breed comparison chart I've found, that the "broodiness" of each breed is rated. I understand that this is the breed's tendency toward wanting to hatch and mother the eggs, and this is obviously a good trait if you want to breed, but it seems that it's unwanted otherwise. My question is, would it matter at all with only hens in the flock? In other words, would having a breed that tends toward broodiness pose any potential problems for someone who only wants to collect eggs, if there is no rooster at all?

Another, related question: I have a friend who says it's good to keep a rooster even if I don't plan on raising chicks, because the rooster will alert and protect the hens from any potential danger... what is your take on this? (I honestly wonder what a rooster would really be able to do as far as "protection" from predators seeing as they are comparatively small to most coyotes etc)

Thanks all!
 
If you want eggs only, the biggie with broody hens is they quit laying eggs while they are being broody. Some breeds will go broody multiple times a year, so their egg production is going to be correspondingly lower. It is also a nuisance to have to break them of being broody. Hens go broody with or without a rooster.
There are a lot of threads on BYC about roosters and their usefulness as protectors in given situations. A good rooster is at least a good alarm system and I do think they help with hawks. With bigger ground predators, in theory his job is to get killed first protecting the hens in an attack. But, like you said, they really are of limited use against things like dogs, foxes or coyotes that can take out a whole flock, and they won't do anything at night anyhow. I mostly keep roosters because I think they are pretty. They do add another dimension to the flock dynamics with how they herd and treat the hens, but often they are a nuisance also with the damage they do mating and harassing the girls, especially as adolescents.
 
Ah, thank you! I didn't realize that the hens would actually stop laying, but that makes sense.
 
Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, Orpingtons are all nice docile breeds that are excellent egg layers. Make sure your chicken house is a lot bigger that you need. Once you get a taste of farm fresh eggs, you will never eat another "Concentration camp" egg again and will be supplying eggs to all your friends and family forever.
 
Ah yes, the chicken concentration camps-- one of my biggest reasons for wanting to get some hens, so I will no longer have to support places like that! (Although I do try to get my eggs from farmer's markets in the summer time!)

So after a lot of reading I think I've narrowed it down to either Easter Eggers, or Rhode Islands. Everything I've read says that these breeds are good producers of large eggs, hardy in winter, docile, and don't have a huge tendency to go broody. All that combined with the fact that I think they're fairly common in my area so should be easy to get.
Does anyone want to weigh in on that? Change my mind? Enable me? lol

Now to start learning how to take care of them... I have to say, I'm really enjoying doing all this reading and simultaneously envisioning my future happy little flock!
 
I, too, am new to flock keeping, and live in Maine. I grew up on a dairy farm where we had hens in my youngest years. They were my grandmother's flock and when she died, we had no more flock. I have some memories of those years. The responsibility for life and death of animals is a comfortable mantle for me.

I have a coop and a large fenced area completed. I will build a roofed run in the Spring. I am deciding on some of the amenities for the coop like an automatic door, feeder and waterer. I will wait until Spring to acquire chicks. My choice is Wyandottes. I like their style, they are suited to the cold weather, and there is a local breeder where I will acquire the chicks.

I don't think there is a wrong choice in all the recommendations of the experienced people who have advised you. There seems to be many choices that will fulfill the backyard flock needs in our cold climate.

I am like you, excited to learn, excited to have the birds around.



PS. My son had a pitbull who was a wonderful dog. He came to a natural end this year after a 13 year run with family love, good food, and exercise. He was a "baby", and that is what we called him, Baby. He loved to snuggle, he was protective of his family, loved to be under the covers and sleep warmly, he got along with two other dogs that lived with him. We never witnessed the stereotyped aggressive behavior that other pits exhibit. We miss him.

Your pit is very nice looking. His pert, cocky expression reminds me of Baby. I am sure he will add happiness to your life. Life is better when you have a dog.
 
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